Warbler Guy, what's the difference between a New World and Old World warbler species?

Thank you, Jake (in Orlando, FL).

I'm in the field this month and currently so I'm only sharing a brief answer (below) to your excellent question.

The short answer is only two bird families compose the New World warbler species that total approximately 114 species in North, Central, and South America (Parulidae family (~113 species) and Peucedramidae family (1 species: Olive Warbler).

The Old World warbler species occur in the Sylviidae family, which are primarily present in the Eastern Hemisphere that include Eurasian and African countries. Note that warbler and babbler species are present in this family that totals approximately 400 species among 70 genera.

Meanwhile, I continue to enjoy detecting Common Yellowthroat near me today during my wetland survey along the San Francisco Bay where I live in Novato (Marin County).

Hence, it's time to return to my outdoor foray....Hope to meet you if you ever visit our area, Jake.....Glad to plan a birding tour with you via:

WarblerWatch.com

Happy Holidays, Daniel

Warbler Guy, did Kirtland's Warbler nest successfully in Wisconsin this year? Wisconsin Kirtland's Warbler were found nesting in more than one county?

Great question, Barry (in Stevens Point, WI).

 "Yes," correct: Kirtland's Warbler is an annual nester in more than one county in Wisconsin....with a nice summary of its success present at the following link:

http://silvis.forest.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ACE-ECO-2021-2009.pdf

As for 2022, I will soon post an updated summary report from the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources.

Among Wisconsin counties annually hosting this federally endangered species, Adams County in central/north-central Wisconsin.

As you may already know, the Wisconsin nesting success phenomenon is a recent extension of this species' breeding range beyond Michigan where it traditionally breeds each year in approximately 10 counties (along with one Ontario nesting site).

Feel free to return soon here for the 2022 summary report I hope to soon receive.

Regards, Daniel Edelstein

Birding Guide

&

Consulting Avian Biologist

WarblerWatch.com

Warbler Guy, how many wood-warblers exist? How many do you see?

 
New World wood-warblers (that are not closely related to the various Old World warblers in the Eastern Hemisphere (e.g., Europe, Asia) are often identified to number as 112-115 species, occurring among 24-26 genera. The centers (or “epicenters”) of their breeding areas occur in eastern North America, the West Indies, Mexico and Central America, and Andean South America.

The majority of northern-latitude breeding species migrate, but many island and tropical species are sedentary. Many of these latter species remain close to their birthing areas or perform short-distance, post-breeding altitudinal/elevation migrations.

As for myself, I often see 20-30 wood-warbler species during early May when I return to homecoming birding forays in the Midwest (and, concurrently, attend the annual Wisconsin Society For Ornithology conference). 

This year, I was lucky to visit Wisconsin both in the spring and fall to search for neotropical migrant species, including wood-warbler family members. 

In so doing, I totaled 23 in the spring and 16 last month. 

All of these species are rare to absent by November in Wisconsin, except for the occasional remaining American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Palm Warbler, and Yellow-rumped Warbler. The latter three may sometimes be detected during southern Wisconsin Christmas Bird Counts, with Yellow-rumped the most typical one seen.

In contrast, my n. CA residency, yields more warbler species during the breeding season — a result that surprises many people because the West is thought to host far fewer warbler species. For example, in Marin County (Bay Area) where I live, I often detect at least eight warbler species annually and, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (near Yuba Pass and/or amid the Gold Lakes country off of Highway 49 near Bassetts), I sometimes successfully sleuth out nine warbler species.

Warbler Guy, where do I learn about "reading" warbler songs (sonograms or spectrograms)? Is Warbler song easy to "read?"

 Kathy, there's a one-stop shopping venue for all your edification needs: earbirding.com

Here, Nathan Pieplow, an erudite sound recordist and expert birder, highlights many "ear birding"
elements, including ways for you to easily read sonograms/spectrograms.

Please see his web site: earbirding.org and his recent book's are excellent on this subject: a) Petersen Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Western N. America and b) Petersen Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern N. America.

The above web site is so good that it gets a top rating from Warbler Guy's advisory panel: me, myself, and I.

Seriously, reading and interpreting sonograms/spectrograms takes practice, but after a while you can
see the elements upon the page that originally looked like gibberish make sense.

Ergo, you'll quickly have no problems identifying a song sparrow classic song via its sonogram in comparison to a common yellowthroat's, and so on.

Other resources for identifying birds by sound and "ear birding" abound.....Some of my favorite are books by Dr. Donald Kroodsma, who authored the classic:
The Singing Life Of Birds.

Is warbler song easy to read on sonograms? Some people find them easier to comprehend than others. I think the above resources will help. My opinion is that some sonogram songs are easy to understand and others are more incomprehensible.

Photo Quiz....Can You ID These Birds? Which One Is NOT a Warbler? To Which Does The Non-Warbler Belong?

 . . and good day to all. . . and who wishes to vote on the ID of the following four wood-warbler photos, BELOW?

(See FAR below for answers...Wish to Share and Tell this quiz with your birding friends....Thank you in advance, Daniel Edelstein, Birding Guide

warblerwatch.com)

(Photos courtesy of Martin Meyers.)

Answers from top to bottom: Prothonotary Warbler and Yellow-breasted Chat, with 

the latter now in the Icteriidae family. It's no longer in the wood-warbler family (Parulidae).

Warbler Guy, is July too early to see dispersing and migrating wood-warblers? When does warbler migration begin?

 Good question, Altuve (in Florida):

The answer is complex, but here's a few simplified, applicable principles:

1. For the majority of wood-warbler species in the Lower 48 of the USA, an initial clutch of newborns has already occurred.

Likewise, a good percentage first-year individuals have already dispersed from their natal nest origin.

This behavior may include foraging nearby where they were born, but not yet migrating by night to a non-breeding, "over-wintering" territory.

2. Which species are early dispersers (and migrators)?

In the West where I live (in the San Francisco Bay Area), Orange-crowned Warbler has completed its nesting cycle. Both young and adults have dispersed elsewhere, including (in some cases) to higher elevation "intermediate" staging areas where foraging opportunities are more successful where larger blooms of insects remain robust compared to the dry, often hot weather in non-coastal Bay Area locations.

In many cases, true southbound migration will follow by August and September.

In the East and Midwest, early dispersers include Tennessee and Yellow Warbler. By late July and August, I have periodically seen banders nets hosting these two species in areas where they do not nest.

3. As for more peak periods of warbler migration, it's fair to suggest that August and September are more common to note larger pulses of many other warbler species during the day as they forage before migrating at night to areas that range from southern states to Central America.

Then again, in my area, we welcome back a plentitude of Townsend's Warbler individuals by September and October as they return for the non-breeding season from more northern latitude breeding grounds. 

I hope this explanation helps.

Regards, Daniel

Birding Guide

& 

Avian Biologist

WarblerWatch.com

Warbler Guy, what's one quick tip to improve my birding by ear? Bird song memory is hard! -- so tips to learning bird songs and bird calls would be appreciated.

 Here's two fast relief pills to take online for learning bird vocalizations and, in particular, wood-warbler songs:

1. Go to xeno-canto.org

Type in the name of the nemesis bird that has you flummoxed (It's free, but you need to create an account with your use name and password).

2. To assess warbler species' songs and calls, go to the following web site that's associated with the excellent, incisive book The Warbler Guide (by Scott Whittle and Tom Stephenson):

http://media2.macaulaylibrary.org/PMD/TWG/TheWarblerGuideAudioCompanion_Booklet.pdf

You may also wish to view:

thewarblerguide.com

and click on the "Companion Guide" button on the right side......Comprehensive information (!)

Otherwise, feel free to see my web site's home page and the "Birding Links" tab pulldown menu where a free handout titled "Top 10 Tips To Improving Your Birding By Ear" appears.

Happy birding and warbler hunting to all, Daniel

www.warblerwatch.cpom

http://warblerwatch.blogspot.com